Blossom in the Dark
by MindBlossom
Summary: Ino is a bright, beautiful, smart kunoichi that just to happens to be in the right? place, but at the wrong time. Will her light be able to help lead the path of his darkness? Sasuke, he's was always the tall, dark, and handsome one. He knew he could have anyone at any time, but he was on a different path, will that change anytime soon? Will be rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! Enjoy

A target would fall to the ground followed by the sound of a sharpened kunai knife falling in pursuit.

Sasuke had awoken bright and early. He had been taking a casual stroll out about in the forest. Something he would often do when he was bored, yet had a lot on his mind. The idea of idly socializing with others members of his team was not something that he found very practical and would rather spend his time alone or training. Stopping for a second he would take a look up to gaze at the sky taking in the sight of the sun rising and enjoying the feeling of the cool yet gentle breeze of the wind. Such a view would ease some of the much had tension that he held within himself towards his brother. Hatred and anger he hoped to one day ease by killing Itachi.

Now that his head had been cleared he would find himself standing in a clearing of circular trees. Such an area would give him the ability to train, and with much anticipation to further develop his skills, while having a pretty good scanning of his surroundings.

A smirk would appear on his face as he would walk picking up the knife along with many others. Sasuke had been training for the past 2 hours as he would wipe the sweat from his forehead. His training would be cut short however as he could hear someone approaching, his guard now fully up, as his would rest his hand against the hilt of his sword; -ready to draw it at the possible unknown enemy.

Ino had been sent on a search, seduce, and assassinate mission as would be expected of all kunoichi's, but it had been awhile since she had done one, so she was a bit out of practice. The mission was mostly a success. She had killed the target, but was walked in on a second after in had been done. So she had to escape quickly. She threw kunai with paper bombs attached, to both sides of the entree way. She dashed out the window as the bombs exploded and ran as fast as possible away from her destination.

Of course getting away wasn't going to be that easy. The body guards of the person I killed knew what I looked like, so she expected them to be on her tail soon. Her plan was to hopefully lose them in the woods, but unfortunately they got back up. She could feel all of there chakra's signatures getting closer. She could spot 10 of them with her senses, but then something through her off guard. It was a familiar chakra, but it had been awhile since she had come in contact with it. She could not put her finger on who it might be, but she decided to go towards it since her situation wasn't getting any better. Maybe this person could help her out.

As she got closer it started to dawn on her who's chakra that is.

"Sasuke"

She spoke under her breath. This may not be as good of an idea as she thought, but it was her best bet. She got to the clearing where she could see him clear as day, but she stayed hidden just in case he decided to try something. After hiding she connected with his head via mind reading. She could hear his thoughts and he could hear hers.

"Sasuke" she said in her mind, so that he would hear her. "Sasuke, it's me Ino. I need to know that you won't hurt me if I reveal myself, so answer me either in your mind or out loud."

"Ino..."

His eyes would widen only a sliver as the raven haired ninja looked into the direction of where the blonde ninja might have been. It would be odd to say that he wasn't surprised that she was there. His hand would relax a bit on the hilt of the sword as he began to relax dropping his guard a bit as she didn't seem to have any ill intent towards him.

But what was she doing out here? Why was she hear so far away from the leaf village and what was her purpose? Was she sent here to get information, to capture him or perhaps kill him? He was after all listed as a wanted rogue ninja. He couldn't help but ponder on these questions as his hand firmed back at the hilt once more drawing his swards and inch from its sheath.

"What do you want?"

Ino rolled her eyes listening to all the different scenarios going through the Uchiha's brain and as much as she wanted to punch him for assuming so quickly, she was running out of time. The enemies ninja were coming closer. So she made the bold decision to just appear 5 feet away from the crimson eyed male. Her long blonde hair flowing behind her. Her blue eyes locked with his red ones and with a stern voice.

"I'm being followed. I am on a mission and it has nothing to do with you, but I do need your help. I may or may not have assassinated the leader of a village and got caught. If you help me take them out, I will owe you one, Sasuke."

He would remain silent from this point on as he cased eyes on the Blonde for the first time. 3 years had been a long time. She had changed a lot form the last time he saw her. To think that she had grown so much, to be able to hold her own for this long against so many ninjas. To have made it this far all on her own. He couldn't shake the idea in his mind that maybe this was a trick. After all she was trained in the art of deception. Needless to say it wasn't his problem nor did he wish to get involved. He held his ground as they circled her paying her no mind. After all, he owed Ino nothing. She was just one less person that he would have to deal with later.

She could feel the chakra of the enemy drawing close. It is risky asking for help from the Uchiha because with a flick of his wrist she could be done for, but then again she would probably end up dead anyway considering she can't out run the others. This is almost a lose/lose situation for her. Her eyes went to the hand that was on the sword. He was ready for combat. Ready to eliminate anything in his way. Ino just hoped she isn't one of those things. The enemy all dropped down behind the blond beauty and charged in her direction. Not caring about the other presence. "Please Sasuke, help me."

Turning his back to her he would simply walk away from her giving her a small smirk.

"You have nothing I could want. Have fun."

Ino figured this was going to happen. She never did seem to be able to trust the Uchiha. The look of surprise didn't go unnoticed though. She had already accepted her fate, so she got out a kunai and was determined to stand her ground until her death. She turned away from the Uchiha to face her enemy, eyed one of them ready to attack.

He simply just didn't care about her or her situation in the least. He did find it a bit interesting though. Such a set up would be perfect for his training. Perhaps now was the time to see just how effective and powerful the alterations of his chidori had become. He turned back around watching as they circled her. His Original idea would be to take them all out not regarding Ino or her safety but that would prove too easy. The challenge lied in curving the attack in a way that would divert around Ino and only hit the enemies, as he had never attempted such a think before. Nonetheless it was practice to him.

"...Chidori Stream!"

Focusing his chakra he would perform the technique as he focused the attack successfully curving the technique around the female striking all of them enemies that surround her leaving them severely crippled and injured if not dead.

Ino watched in amazement and the powerful chakra rushed around her. I gave her goosebumps just being around such power.

The attack was not perfect as a wave of it may or may not have ripped at Ino's skirt and clipped a few strands of her hair. He wasn't a master of such a techniques but he had been working at it for days.

She dropped the kunai she had in her hand and fell to her knees in shock. Her heart pounding as fast as ever. She didn't even notice that he had snagged her a bit, nor did she care. She was just happy to be alive at this point. She wasn't quite sure what had changed his mind, but now was not the time to ask. All she could do was be thankful.

"Thank you, Sasuke"

The male would recollect himself, resting his arms beside himself as he stood straight. He had been pleased with the result although a little distraught at the fact that it touched Ino. It wasn't perfect yet but the technique was getting there. He took a deep breath as his eyes fell shut for a moment and then reopened slowly. Looking around he would take notice of the fallen ninja and then to Ino.

The thought of saying something to the blonde would cross his mind but he instead he restrained himself from making any comments to her. I'm his mind, any chit chat with her was unnecessary and pointless. He would turn around, his back facing her now as he began to motion away from her a step at a time as if he never met her.

She snapped back into her own mind and looked around seeing all the limp bodies laying around her. Her heart was still racing at a million miles a second. She slowly got to her feet and turned in the direction Sasuke was. She watched for a second as he walked away from her. Should she go after him? What would she do or say to him? He didn't have any business with her. Hell she is completely surprised he even saved her. She thought maybe there was still some thing in his heart that he felt towards his old comrads. She had the biggest urge to pursue and find out.

She got to her feet and made her way over to him. As she got a little closer the first thing that came out of her mouth seemed silly to her.

"Sasuke wait, don't leave me here."

After she said it, she mental face palmed herself, but she couldn't take it back after she had already said it. She completely expected him to ignore her and just continue his journey to where ever he may be heading.

"Don't leave you here?...I've been training; becoming stronger so that I can one day accomplish the goals that I have set out to achieve and you think that I'm at worried about leaving you here?..."

Sasuke wasn't much moved by Ino or the words that she had spoken to him. He didn't much care to have a pointless conversation. He didn't dislike her but he didn't see the value in such idle chat. To him this conversation was nothing more then maybe a way that she would try to convince him to return to the village but it had been far to late for that. He couldn't turn back now or more so he wouldn't.

She was actually surprised she got a response from him. She expected him to ignore her stupid cry and just continue what he was doing. It almost made her a bit curious as to why he did stop and comment. While he was talking it gave her a chance to catch up to him.

"If you weren't worried, why did you stop? You could have easily just ignored my ignorant attempt to get your attention and just continued walking. I admit, I'm not quite sure why I cried out. I guess I was just in a bit of shock and you are a familiar face, so I just reacted."

Although he wanted to believe in Ino, he didn't want to take a chance on a feeling. He had come too far to lose his way now.

"So you were sent on an assaination mission? Why would you tell me such a thing? I'm sure that's classified information to a rogue like myself? Perhaps this is all just a trick to get me to come back...to capture me..?"

With a slow pull he would draw the sword. Now stopped in place he would turn around to face her, raising the blade up to hold it out towards her neck.

She completely ignored the fact he had a sword directed toward her. She took in his appearance a lot better. He hadn't changed much, still the dark hair, pale yet tan complexion, red eyes since he never turned his Sharingan off, which she knew was understandable. He still had the same none caring vengeful attitude, but he was at least taller and more built that he was the last time he saw her.

"Yes, I can tell you have definitely grown in power, but the attitude could be worked on a little, still pretty much the same since I last saw you. I only told you because I needed help. I'm not going to spill the details of my mission, that's just ridiculous, but I can say I'm not here to get you back. I'm not Naruto or Sakura. I could careless what you do with your life, if you truly believe that I'm here to try to harm you in anyway, then flick your wrist and end me. I physically cannot stop you, I can admit that."She closed her eyes and waited for his decision

The rogue ninja would feel a bit at ease hearing her words. He didn't really think ill or low of Ino at all. He remembered the days of them being genin; working side by side with her and the other leaf genin. He could remember her always being around to offer her support, even at times when it was completely unnecessary. Times that he had been grateful for and enjoyed. However those days were long gone and a memory of the past.

"What I think is of little importance. The only things that matter are the facts which are, that you stand before me right now. And so I wonder what that truly means for the two of us? You know where I am and you could report my whereabouts to someone else, in particularly the Leaf village. Which, in return could lead to my demise, all because I proved to be too weak to eliminate someone who could of been a possible threat. That is something that I simply cannot leave to chance."

A slight smirk curling to his lips, Sasuke would redirect the blade now angling it toward her neckline.

"You didn't think I would simply let you go did you? You're reverse physcology won't work on me either so you can stop playing the role of the tough girl."

Ino was having a rough day. She has escaped death once today, so he may not be as forgiving this time around. It wasn't going to stop her from trying though. She didn't show it in her body language, but her eyes did show a combination of fear and concern as she slowly opened them. She peered into the red hues of the male before her and the smirk he had on his face, how she longed to see that smirk, but as part of a different scenario. The concern in her eyes were more for Sasuke, he was so lost. This side of him was very different. Never would she have thought he would kill an old comrad, but then again he has tried to kill Naruto in the past, multiple times in fact. She did still worry about the raven haired shinobi in front of her. She started to answer him after he finished talking.

"I'm actually very interested in what you think and your opinion on the matter. Do you feel our meeting each other was by accident or do you feel I had truly planned it? I have always been an open book about my feelings, you of all people should know that and I feel that this here" She pointed to his heart. "is telling this here" She pointed to his head. "something completely different than what you are currently deciding to do, but since you find your self siding with your brain, which you probably think is the smart idea, then I guess I don't see why you wouldn't get rid of me."

Why the hell was she babbling, was this her way of comprehending the fact he was ready to kill her or did she think she could actually talk her way out of it, but he still hadn't done it. The anticipation was going to probably kill her in the end anyway. She bit her lip to try to hide her fear a bit more. She then suddenly felt chakra signatures quicky heading in their directions. They were moving fast as well.

"Sasuke, someone is coming..."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I'm still new to this, so I hope this comes out aright. xD

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The playful smirk on his face would continue to hold firmly, his eyes never leaving her for a moment, analyzing her carefully. Perhaps she was telling the truth. Maybe she wasn't up to anything, but how could he be sure? Maybe killing her would have been the best way to go about it, but making careless assumptions was also something he didn't care to do. Holding the blade to her neck, he weighed the decision in his head; the decision of her death.. It wasn't something he wanted to do but feelings alone were never something to base your decisions off of. At least he thought so.

Him tampering back and forth with his decision really started to irritate her, in her mind she was now smacking that smug smirk off his beautiful could feel the chakra signatures growing stronger.

"Come on!"

Slowly he drew the sword from her neckline. The thought of hiding with her behind a tree did cross his mind yet the test would never truly go away if he didn't stand his ground and fight. However there was no way to know the strength of the enemy and rushing out to fight could and would of been a foolish idea. He quickly reached for her fram to take hold of her by her waistline to quickly jump and hid behind a few trees so they would be hidden to see if the approachers would over look them and allow their escape. He whispered in her ear.

"Just know that this won't end for you the way it did for Naruto should you be lying to me Ino."

She knew at this moment only a few things. 1. She wasn't lying to him, 2. He probably wont kill her just yet, and 3. She could feel her cheeks getting warm with a blush at the proximity of their bodies and the fact that one of his rough powerful hands was still plastered around her Petite waist. Her mind snapped back too when ninja of the same village she was just running from landing in the opening where her and Sasuke just resided. They looked around at all their dead comrads and with a hint of horror peering out of their eyes. Their voices were faint, but still understandable.- "That bitch...How was she able to take care of all of them?" One said to another. "She must not be alone." Said another. At this time there were only 3 of them. "Send word to the village, She is still out there. We will find her and she will pay." In that moment they picked up there dead comrads bodies and fled the scene.

Ino rolled her eyes at the others comment and under her breath she said. "Promises, Promises." Once she could feel that they were a safe distance away she looked at the male next to her.

"They are gone now, so you can let me go, unless you just like the way my skin feels then feel free to hold me for as long as you like." She giggled jokingly.

"I bet you would like that wouldn't you?" She blushed at his comment.

What was he to do? He would sheath his sword now pondering on the thought to try and track down the ninja but that seemed to be more of a wasted effort on his part. The best option to him at this point was to go on about his business. If they had fled back to the village it surely would of been to get more help, or maybe in the slightest they would let the quarrel go for now being that by the time they would circle back Ino would have most likely made it back to her village.

Either way the worst thing he could do was stay where he was. Looking around to ensure they had fled he would look to Ino one last time as he slowly released her from his grasp. She frowned at this action. Looking to her he couldn't help but playfully smirk to her in how much she had grown as a ninja. It was eveident that she had completely changed.

She saw the smirk he had and her frown slowly smirk of his, It was different from the one before. This was more of the smile she wanted to see, so she playfully smirked back at him. She was in close proximity to him even though he had released his hold. He didn't expect for her to remain close as she had done. She decided to play with him a little. "Well I would be lying to you Sasuke-kun if I said I didn't want you to touch me."

She leaned in and purred in his ear. He would try to shrug off her unwanted advanced but once she had purred into his ear, his face couldn't help but tint to a slight crimson hue as his eyes shut. She then stepped away from him and started walking in the direction he was heading in. She was determined to pay him back for helping her even though he says it was just 'training', so that is what she intended to do.

"So, since you helped me. I need to pay you back. Is there anything I can do for you to make your life a bit easier?" She knew he probably wouldn't reveal any bid plans with her, considering she was still loyal to the leaf, but I'm sure there was something he could think of.

She awaited his response in hope that she could be of assistance. She also didn't want to head home just yet. She finished her mission much quicker than most kunoichi would, even though she was out of practice. Seducing someone seemed to have come naturally for her, but she does give herself brownie points for never sleeping with any of her targets. She respected herself to much for that.

He didn't give much thought to her offer as he snickered to himself within his mind. How could she help him? What could she offer him? Sure she had a unique skill set as a Female ninja. Not for her seduction or because she was a female but she possessed unique abilities that could prove useful to him. While she actually could have been of great help to him, he simply did not need another on his team. The added fact was she was a leaf ninja, clearly still loyal and that was a problem on its own. He should have killed her when he had the chance yet he continued; even until now to hesistate.

"You don't need to pay me back. I didn't do it to help you. I did it for my own benefit. Simply training. Besides...if they had found us just then. It could have proved to be an issue for me. If I really cared so much about you then maybe I would have killed those men as well. Now that they know you got away they will surely try to come for you at some point or another. You see this is strategy. If they should come to attack the Leaf just to get to you, then that will create an opening for me to attack the Leaf when it is already weak...So run along Ino. I don't need anything that you have to offer..."

She rolled her eyes at the way his small mind worked. Did he honestly think she was arrogant enough to let them know what village she was from? She didn't even wear a head band on a normal day much less a mission. She especially wouldn't give her identity away on a seduction mission. His logic or strategics were personally ill thought of. She also knew in the back of her mind that all this was probably training to him, but a tiny part of her wanted to hang onto the fact that he might have saved her out of the own kindness of his heart. Then again I'm sure his heart was completely ripped out by himself, if Orochimaru didn't do it first. She just stared as he walked and placed one hand on her hip and the other balled in a fist to her side. "I kind of figured your naive stupidity wouldn't let you give me the chance to repay you." That probably wasn't the best choice of words, but he kind of ticked her off and she obviously cannot choose her fights very well.

"Naive stupidity huh? Says the female who is so adamant about spending time with me so that she can replay a useless debt. A debt that I don't seem to care if you pay or not. So I wonder who is really the naive stupid idiot?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "Paying a dept, even if it does not need be is not naive or stupid. It's showing a sign of respect. If you have come so far as to not want respect, then I pity you a little. I would be surprised if you had any respect at all or even knew what the word meant. In any case, you could at least grab a bite to eat with me. You must be hungry after all that 'training'" She said while imitating quotation with her hands.

Smirking again, he would let out a small chuckle as he brought his hand to his mouth to quiet himself. He didn't care what Ino did as she was starting to become quite entertaining to him. He truly was starting to become used to the blondes presence however he wouldn't share that with her. It felt nice to have someone around him who he had known from his past durning his time of being a genin at the Leaf village. He would regain his composure continuing to walk foward allowing her to do as she wanted.

"Do as you want Ino, but if you come along then the food is on you." He would playfully smirk to her again.

She walked passed him in route to the nearest village that she found on her way here when she started this whole mission. She was determined to get herself something to eat, but whether or not he followed was his choice. "I was planning on getting food to begin with, so it's actually your choice in the end if you want to join me or not. It was just my duty as a respectful Shinobi to invite you for helping me." Her ponytail moved side to side as she walked, never did she try to look back to see if the male was still with her.

Sasuke remained behind Ino, following her at a close distance. He didn't intend to pass up the chance for a meal with the blonde. The fact was, he had been hungry and maybe a moment in town with Ino would do him some good. He wasn't sure if she had been been trying to work one of her angles, but he would be sure to figure that out for himself. A familiar smirk would form on his face as he kept his sights on the female before him.

She assumed he was behind her, so she decided to start up a conversation while on their journey. "I am kind of curious, is your current, so called team, like you or do they have actual hearts and souls?" She was completely surprised when she heard a voice in return. "My team is of no concern to you. You should focus on where it is you'll be treating me to eat. Not on pointless things about others."

She shook her head just a little, not being surprised by his response at all. She kept quiet until she saw the small gated opening to the village. "Finally, I'm so hungry." There was a really good BBQ cafe here, nothing special, but it seems to be a safe option for just about anyone. Course she already knew what she was going to order considering she eats BBQ all the time when around Choji and Shikamaru. Well more with Choji. She also wasn't to worried about being seen in public with this criminal behind her because it was a small village.

Passing the gates she scanned the area trying to remember which way the cafe was, but noticed that there was quite a bit of commotion. There were booths and music, lots of people were gathered. Seems like a festival was going on. Parties, festivals, or any kind of get togethers always put Ino in a good mood. She completely forgot who she was with and smiled as she turned to her travel partner "Ohh look, we came just in time. After food we can look around Sasuke-kun! I mean unless you don't have any where else to be that is."

His eyes would widen towards Ino, as if to question her statement. While the idea of having a bit of fun and indulging in the village activities seems like a much needed relief, He couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the time or place for such festivities. Even just getting a meal with Ino seemed to be a big deal to him. For the most part. He had just tagged along for the ride.

"That's of no concern to me. I don't have time to waste parading through the streets with you partaking in such pointless things. My only goal is in the darkness; not to be hung up in some small village with a former comrade."

She kind of figured he would decline her request, so she didn't let it bother her very much. She was okay with just having lunch with the raven haired Uchiha.

They arrived at the cafe and Ino quickly found a seat.

His small aside would come to an end as he followed Ino to the cafe; his eyes in amazement. It had been a long time since he had anything like this. The last time being when he had been at the Leaf village. He could already think of several things he could possibly want as he took a set with Ino. His eyes quickly perusing over a menu to confirm the things he had a taste for.

She replayed his words in her head a few times about darkness and what was funny was that there was an unlit candlestick on the table, for the evening times, but it can be lit whenever. She smiled to herself while looking at the candlestick and then noticed a small box of lighters behind it.

"I don't quite understand your fascination with the darkness, but I know that regardless of your path there is always a small light to help guide you on your way." With that being said she lit the candlestick with one of the wooden lighters.

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I'm sorry this is a weird way to end this chapter, but I hope everyone enjoyed. If anyone has some friendly critique on what I could change or do different, let me know. If you enjoyed it please let me know that as well. Thanks all.


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